The day starts in Barcelona – a places distant from the capital. The toaster was full of Catalonian anarchist character today.
Park Guell is a rich man’s property development project. Neither Gaudi nor the property developer cared that it was a failure because they had so many other interests going on, and they got to live in a park they quite liked.
As you enter the front gates – the tour guide tells you about a bird imported from Argentina, which has no natural predators – so they cull them every five years. (It’s not quite the way we think about biological hazards in Australia.)
This is the House where Gaudi lived until 1925. (He moved out shortly before his death.) Every day he commuted by walk 40 mins down and 75 mins back to the Sangra Familia – his life’s work.
He was hit by a tram – and they took him to a poor hospital as they did recognise him due to his humble dress. The house went to the Sangra foundation.
These are a row of spheres representing 59 spheres of a Catholic rosary.
The housing project failed because no one wanted to live in this housing development park as it was expensive and far out. (They didn’t really have a concept of investing for future urbanisation back then.) The monthly strata fees put them off too. The project was before its time – 20 years later the city of the pollution would have driven them here but then it would never have become a foundation park.
This was a socialisation park that is now used for city performances.
Casa Trias was the first and only house built and sold in Guell Park. The Guell Park foundations have been trying to buy it, and the owners have refused to sell for three generations.
Gaudi designed ergonomic benches with drains.
This is Casa Larad – the house of Eusibi Guell – the property developer. When he died in 1918, the family sold it to the City Council in 1922, and the City turned it into a school in 1926. The shouts and squeals of a children’s primary school could be heard over the fence.
This is the “Room of 100 Columns.” [There is only 80.] They collect the water runoff from the … an go to a subterranean tank, and used to water the garden. This system is in use today. The pattern of four represents the four seasons in a year.
Gaudi’s idea with the broken tiles was that they would reflect light and provides cooling and be cleanable. Gaudi is moving onto a Greek theme with the columns.
Gaudi choose recycled kitchen tiles not for sustainability, but to create beauty from ordinary things in the kitchen. As we leave the room, Gaudi’s greek column and tile narrative takes on a life of its own.
This is the dragon (not a snake) from Delphi Greek Mythology, who guarded dangerous knowledge, and was slewn by Apollo to control the Oracle. There are three snakes from the story.
Around this area there was a kind of “5-year-old girls birthday party – release of the one pink balloon” effect.
This is the Casa Del Guarda, was designed to be the Main entry to park – the guards house. (Now near the exit.)
This house is known as Gingerbread house. It was designed to be the place where guests invited to parties would wait, and could be met, and their invitations checked before they were admitted.
To our knowledge, Gaudi did 100 architecture projects that got built and only 20 are left.
George Lucas, maker of Star Wars – visited Barcelona seeing Gaudi’s buildings and Guell Park (what must have been the 1970s) and this influenced his designs in Star Wars. The story goes that the Casa Milla apartment chimneys (not in Park Guell – but elsewhere in Barcelona) influenced the Stormtroopers and Vader’s mask. This is not well evidenced, and there is more evidence that this came from Samurai masks and WWII designs.
There is however evidence that Park Guell directly influenced his designs in Star Wars Episode II. (As well as a Terminte infestation in his house when he was making the movie.)
As we walk up the hill – the views over the city to the water are astounding.
We climb to a hill where a church was planned, but all that was built were three crosses.
There were lots of musicians in the park. Making it almost magical.
Walking through the park, this woman played an amazing rendition of ‘Unbreak my heart’ on a Hammered Dulcimer (Zither). I didn’t quite catch it on video.
Lunch was some authentic local fare. Europeans really understand dessert.
This dog was feeling antisocial after the crowds and the humidity.
